West Virginia governor's lawyers say his coal businesses are unable to pay millions in bills

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, long described as the only billionaire in his state and the owner of a huge network of coal businesses, is facing multiple lawsuits over his companies' unpaid bills and fines — but his lawyers say his business empire is out of money and unable to pay the millions of dollars being sought, reported POLITICO on Thursday.

"A flurry of court filings in cases against Justice and his family indicates that his sprawling enterprises are short on cash, with his own lawyers calling them 'disorganized,'" reported Scott Waldman. "The court documents show that Justice is facing a series of extraordinary actions for a sitting governor — including the potential garnishment of part of his $150,000 state salary to repay loans for coal equipment, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported earlier this year. Another plaintiff has asked U.S. marshals to seize millions of dollars from his accounts."

"The latest legal challenge came Wednesday when the Justice Department sued Justice’s business enterprise and his son, James C. Justice III, over $7.6 million in unpaid penalties and fees for federal mine and safety violations as well as mine land reclamation costs," said the report. "'Our environmental laws serve to protect communities against adverse effects of industrial activities including surface coal mining operations,' Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim said in a statement. 'Through this suit, the Justice Department seeks to deliver accountability for defendants’ repeated violations of the law and to recover the penalties they owe as a result of those violations.'"

According to an earlier report, the federal suit alleges that Justice's companies have blown off paying fines on over 100 mining regulations, creating "health and safety risks" and risk of "environmental harm."

Justice, a longtime Republican and Trump ally who briefly switched to the Democratic Party when he initially ran for governor, is mounting a Senate campaign to unseat Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat who has often been a deciding vote on national issues. He has framed the litigation as a political hit against him, with his campaign manager saying, "the Biden Justice Department has decided to play politics."

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But Justice's main primary challenger, Republican Congressman Alex Mooney, has signaled he intends to go after his opponent's financial problems: “My RINO opponent @JimJusticeWV will bankrupt America just like his businesses and the workers he wouldn’t pay," he tweeted a week before the new lawsuit.

"In April, lawyers for his family businesses indicated in court documents that his empire is short on cash. The case was brought by Fivemile Energy Co., which is suing the Justice businesses on behalf of New London Tobacco Market over a mining contract dispute. The case stretches back years and is still moving through the courts," according to the report. "As a defense in that case, Justice’s company lawyers referred to his family businesses as a 'somewhat disorganized organization whose resources are stretched to the limit with respect to both finances and personnel.'"